28-year-old Boise man charged with felony injury to child

Deputies declared a 3-year-old girl to be in imminent danger over the weekend after they discovered she had easy access to syringes and other drug paraphernalia — and was living in unsanitary conditions — at her south Ada County home.

Deputies charged the girl’s father, 28-year-old Jeffery T. Hunter, with felony injury to child. He is being held in the Ada County Jail and is set to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

Deputies began their investigation just before 7 p.m. Sunday after getting a report about living conditions in the home, which is in the Five Mile Road/Tanglewood Drive neighborhood.

When deputies arrived and talked to Hunter at the door of the home, they could see that the oven inside the house was on, with the heating element glowing orange and the oven door open. The carpet was dirty and there were holes in the wall. Deputies could also smell marijuana.

Right after deputies walked into the home, they saw a syringe on an easy chair, which was easily accessible to the toddler. There were also exposed wires coming from an electrical outlet and at least one knife lying on the counter in the kitchen.

Hunter told them the oven was on and open to heat the house because the heater did not work. The home did not have running water or a working toilet, and the toilet and tub had fecal matter on them. Deputies also found a dark tar-like substance on drug paraphernalia that is being tested to determine if it is heroin.

Deputies declared the toddler to be in imminent danger and placed her in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

They then arrested Hunter and took him to the Ada County Jail.

The crime of felony injury to child is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.